Three Job Sites to Use To Get The Job You Want

I can't seem to get away from Indeed, Careerbuilder and the famous Monster. I remember using these websites and I would get so many responses from the employers, I had to start organizing my mailbox because I didn't remember which jobs I applied to. But that was six years ago. Currently, I have been on a search for unknown websites that may benefit me during this job search. I do continue to use the ones I stated above but due to the lack of responses, I don't visit them as much. I guess the employers are so flooded with job applications that they probably forward them to their spam folder. And then hire the candidate internally.

Well, there is some hope. Sometimes, it may not be feasible for us to volunteer or maybe our network connections can be counted on one hand. We want to believe that the employers will scan our resume or at least open up our application. I found some interesting not-so-popular websites that will hopefully  guarantee you a response from any employer.

Aftercollege: Remember when New York Times had their own job section before Monster took them over? Being the monopoly that they are, they took over HotJobs, too. Well, that's beside the point. I found Aftercollege, accidentally during my job search. This website caters to the young professionals who may have entry level experience or no experience at all. What's even more interesting is that the job postings are from local newspapers and small companies, so you wouldn’t have to worry about your resume getting lost in a huge HR department. And it was also refreshing to see a couple of New York Times job postings on the website as well. (I haven’t seen any job ads from NYT on the Monster website in a long time) But even if you don't live in NYC, you can still use Aftercollege since it caters to US region. In order to use their website, you have to create a free account with them and it doesn't take any more than five to ten minutes.

Idealist: I remember Idealist from college days and the website was very simple to navigate through; nothing fancy to look at but I must say that it was and still is one of my favorite websites. Idealist caters to the non-profit sector and their job postings are pretty affordable; I worked for a company temporarily and we were searching for a coordinator so I placed a posting on Idealist and the cost was 60 bucks. But from the job-seeker point of view, Idealist was a hidden gem. A good while ago, Idealist didn't have high visitor ranks; that meant higher feedback from the employer. Now they are well known but I wouldn't put them on the level of Monster and trust me: that's a plus. They don't have outdated postings; their website is updated every day and most of the time, our cover letters and resumes are actually sent to an email...which belongs to a real person, not a general inbox. You don't have to go through a lengthy process unless the employer requires you to fill out an application on their website. But so far, that hasn't been the case with me. I have gotten two temporary jobs, one full time and part time from Idealist along with two of my friends and sister who received full time positions from using Idealist. Idealist rocks.

Company websites: I save the best for last. It sounds too cliché and really obvious. We all know that the Big Four companies post on every job site you can imagine from Juju, Resumebucket to Beyond and even LocalJobNetwork. And we have the runner-up companies that do the same and even more. I know you have to think to yourself: are they really hiring anyone? I am sure they are and that’s why they forward you to their website. But the point I am trying to make is that you have to research the companies that can be hiring and if they are, it would be for a job position that is most likely not advertised. So the next question is how do you research companies if you don’t even know their names? One of the ways to do this is to use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is great for building your network and trying to research your 2^nd and 3^rd degree connections which mean that your friend can have a friend of a friend that is working for a company that you like. I would use LinkedIn to obtain the name of companies and even follow them so you can receive updates. Now with this information, you can go on their website, check out their career section and most likely, discover jobs that are usually never posted on job sites. I actually encountered this many times. And I actually started receiving responses.

I really hope you find great use with all of the tips that I provided. They have definitely worked for me and I am sure it will work for you. It may take some time to receive feedback but your chances of receiving responses will be higher. Like I said, this post is not to downgrade any popular job sites and I do recommend that you continue to use them. But there are ways of getting around the crowd so you can be the front candidate. Getting a job involves dedication, research and networking. But whatever you decide, just don’t give up. That job you always wanted will come when you least expect it.

Good Luck!